Step-ladder brace.



PATENTED MAR? 12, 1907. E. ROWE. STEP LADDER BRAGE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 1906.

4, WASHINGTON, n. c

EDWARD ROWE, OF INDIANA, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEP-LADDER BRACE- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 12, 1907.

Application filed July 25,1906. Serial No. 327,609.

To all whont it ntcty cancer-7t:

Be it known that I, EDWARD ROWE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Indiana, in the county of Indiana and State of Pennsylvania, have inventeda new and Improved Step-Ladder Brace, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to step-ladders; and the object of the invention is to produce a brace of simple construction which is adapted to brace the legs of the step-ladder so as to hold the same in upright position.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

F igure 1 is a perspective of the upper portion of a ladder provided with a brace constructed in accordance with my invention. 1* ig. 2- is a vertical section through the upper portion of the ladder, and further illustrating the brace and the manner in which the ladder may be folded up.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the body of the ladder, provided with the usual steps 2 and attached rigidly to a top board 3 through the medium of bracketplates 4.. To these bracketplates 4 a leg-frame 5 is pivotally attached at 6, the said leg-frame comprising a pair of legs 7, connected by a rigid horizontal brace 8. The step-ladder is adapted to be opened into the position shown in Fig. 1 when set upright.

'In order to brace the leg-frame 5 and hold the same in a fixed position, I provide a brace 9. This brace is adapted to be formed entirely of wire and comprises a link 10 and a link 11. The link 10 is formed with divergent arms 12, the extremities whereof are piece of wire, as shown. The forward link 11 presents two substantially parallel arms 17, which diverge forwardly and are attached to eyebolts 18, which eyebolts are preferably screwed into the rear edge of one of the steps 2, as indicated. At a suitable point the arms 17 are twisted to form eyes 19 around the wrist-pin 16, and beyond this point the arms continue substantially parallel with each other and are bent upwardly at their extremities so as to form a connecting bight or shoe 20. I/Vhen the brace is in its extended position, as shown in Fig. 1, this bight or shoe 20 engages the shank of the tongue 14:.

Referring to Fi 2, it will be seen that the wrist-pin 16 is depressed below the line con necting the eyebolts 18 with the shoe 20, so that a force tending to spread the legs of the ladder will not operate to break the joint of the brace. In other words, when the brace is extended it looks itself in the extended position. When the ladder is to be closed up, the joint of the brace is broken, so that the leg-frame may fall forwardly against the inner side of the ladder-body, while the brace will move into the position in which it is ndicated in the dotted lines in I ig. Evidently the brace may be very readily constructed of wire, formed as described. Furthermore, the resiliency of the brace, to gether with its manner of construction, brings about a desirable give or play, which has a tendency to prevent the ladder from walking or moving laterally when the Weight upon it shifts.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. A step-ladder-leg brace consisting of a pair of links formed of wire, one of said links presenting a forwardly-projecting tongue formed of bars spread apart and connected by an integral transversely-disposed wristpin, the other of said links presenting a pair of arms twisted about said wrist-pin to form eyes, the extremities of said arms beyond said wrist-pin being bent upwardly and integrally united by a transverse shoe engaging said tongue. v

2. A step-ladder-leg brace, consisting of a pair of links formed of Wire, one of said links having oppositely-extending arms twisted together to form a forwardly-projecting tongue, said tongue presenting a transversely-disposed wrist-pin, the other of said links consisting of a pair of arms twisted about said 1 name to this specification in the presence of Wrist-pin to form eyes, said arms beyond said l tWo subscribing Witnesses. Wrist-pin extending substantially parallel 1 with each other, and having their extremil EDWARD O I ties turned upwardly, forming a curved shoe F Witnesses:

engaging said tongue. l G. W. ROOP,

In testimony whereof I have signed my l J. P. H. SHIELDS. 

